Album Review: Bury Tomorrow – Earthbound

Bury Tomorrow have been on a trajectory towards bigger and better things ever since they formed a decade ago, and their latest album Earthbound marks a new high. Its predecessor Runes was a strong success, but left a lot of promises that their fourth studio album was required to meet.

The record opens promisingly with the soaring and heavy ‘The Eternal’ with its follow-up ‘Last Light’ taking on the same tone but with a less-boisterous and rockier feel. Already, vocalist Jason Cameron has proved his capacity for uplifting intensity, while Daniel Winter-Bates has delivered on his gratingly gratifying screams. Album namesake ‘Earthbound’ is a pivotal track, marking a new level of maturity and mastery of the metalcore genre in every respect.

The energy of Earthbound is well structured, progressing smoothly from uplifting passion to heavy anger. This passion reaches anthem-esque heights in ‘The Burden’ and ‘Fear No Evil’, two songs written to destroy the lungs of all present with their deeply powerful lyrics. Things take a darker turn with ‘Cemetery’ and ‘Restless & Cold’, both tracks coming down hard with layers of steady anger. As we progress towards ‘Memories’ we reach a moment of penetrating contemplation in this album, a mean feat of song writing. There are, however, in ‘Cemetery’ and other similar songs the well-trodden sounds of the metalcore genre.

While the album’s earlier tracks show strength and innovation, its middle stage has a sense of disappointing familiarity. Things swerve slightly back on course with ‘301’ and ‘Memories’, the latter offering ‘Earthbound’ strong competition for this album’s strongest track. As we leave Earthbound, however, we again hear those familiar metalcore sounds made more awkward by a rushed outro in the form of ‘Bloodline’. With this album, Bury Tomorrow have secured their path to even greater success with strong production and deep emotional understanding. Its only shortcoming lies in its lack of innovation, a minor stain on an otherwise incredible album.